|
|
A message from our minister...........
As we (along with congregations across the country, and indeed the world) begin the process of emerging from our COVID-induced dormancy, we may find ourselves discouraged. There is inertia to be overcome; there is rebuilding to be done – how can we even begin? It can be so overwhelming.
We might sympathize a little bit with the prophet Ezekiel (in chapter 37 of the book which shares his name), standing in a valley full of dry bones, unsure what to do. We may hear the same question in our hearts and minds that God spoke to Ezekiel, “can these bones live?”
Of course, we know how that turned out: God caused spirit to enter those dry bones and they stood on their own power, like “a vast army,” much to the surprise of Ezekiel (not to mention the hearers of his story!).
Through this experience, God reminded His prophet that as long as God lives, there is nothing so dead that God cannot breathe life back into it - and God ever lives.
Brick Church family, our bones are far from dry. There is still plenty of life left among us. If God can restore long-dead, sun-bleached bones to life, surely we must have faith that God can cause the Spirit to move afresh over this beloved church family – no matter how far behind we may feel we've fallen – and restore us to a vitality that may otherwise seem impossible.
Beloved of God, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith;” the one to whom we owe our life as a church. Let us remember that God can and does move in unexpected places and in unexpected ways. Let us feel the breath of God moving among us, and rise up anew; giving thanks to the One who restores and sustains us.
Grace and Peace,
Reverend Michael Burnett
We might sympathize a little bit with the prophet Ezekiel (in chapter 37 of the book which shares his name), standing in a valley full of dry bones, unsure what to do. We may hear the same question in our hearts and minds that God spoke to Ezekiel, “can these bones live?”
Of course, we know how that turned out: God caused spirit to enter those dry bones and they stood on their own power, like “a vast army,” much to the surprise of Ezekiel (not to mention the hearers of his story!).
Through this experience, God reminded His prophet that as long as God lives, there is nothing so dead that God cannot breathe life back into it - and God ever lives.
Brick Church family, our bones are far from dry. There is still plenty of life left among us. If God can restore long-dead, sun-bleached bones to life, surely we must have faith that God can cause the Spirit to move afresh over this beloved church family – no matter how far behind we may feel we've fallen – and restore us to a vitality that may otherwise seem impossible.
Beloved of God, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith;” the one to whom we owe our life as a church. Let us remember that God can and does move in unexpected places and in unexpected ways. Let us feel the breath of God moving among us, and rise up anew; giving thanks to the One who restores and sustains us.
Grace and Peace,
Reverend Michael Burnett